Zero ullage injection valve

ABSTRACT

A valve has a conical passageway which is obturated by a conical spool. The spool is preloaded closed by spring means, and is operated by the hydraulic presence of the liquid flowing through the passageway.

[ Jan. 1,1974

United States Patent [1 1 Ashley 1,843,410 2/1932 Von 2 981 153 4/1961 Wilson, Jr. et 211.... 3,011,451 12/1961 Griffin 3,202,055 8/1965 Butler Primary ExaminerSamuel W. Engle Attorney-Bailin L. Kuch et a1.

[22] Filed:

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spring means, and is operated by the hydraulic pres- References and ence of the liquid flowing through the passageway. UNlTED STATES PATENTS 89/7 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2,947,221 Griffin et a1.

ZERO ULLAGE INJECTION VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to high rate of flow, rapid actuation valves, and is particularly adapted to high rate of fire, liquid propellant guns.

2. Prior Art Low rate of fire, liquid propellant or initiant guns are disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,455,202, issued July 15, 1969 to Dixon et al., utilizing a quasi-spool valve; and US. Pat. No. 3,537,352, issued Nov. 3, 1970 to R.W. Joyce, utilizing a ball valve. A liquid propellant gun having a high rate of ,flow spool valve is disclosed in US. Patent application Ser. No. 148,833, filed June 1, 1971 by D.P. Tassie.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the prior art liquid propellant guns, the passageways to the chamber for liquid propellants trap some of these liquids, which then cannot be utilized in the combustionprocess, and which drain away between shots, producing enclosed volumes containing ambient atmosphere. The next time the chamber is filled with liquid, the trapped atmosphere is forced into the chamber. It is known that decreasing the size of a passageway decreases the ullage that it causes; however, decreasing the diameter of a passageway also decreases the rate of liquid flow therethrough.

The object of this invention is to provide an injection valve which does not introduce any ullage, yet which permits the use of a relatively large diameter passageway.

A feature of this invention is the provision of a valve having a conical passageway which is obturated by a conical spool. The spool is preloaded closed by spring means; and is operated by the hydraulic pressure of the liquid flowing through the passageway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following specification thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conical spool injection valve embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a battery type gun embodying the valve of FIG. 1 taken along plane lI-II of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional detail view taken along plane III-III of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As seen in FIG. 1, the conical spool injection valve intercouples a supply volume 12 of liquid with a utilization volume 14, all shown disposed in a block 16. In the embodiment of a gun utilizing liquid propellants shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the supply volume is an injection cylinder 12, and the utilization volume is a firing chamber 54, both of which have parallel longitudinal axes. The longitudinal axis of the valve is perpendicular to the axes of the chambers, being diametral to the firing chamber, and eccentric to the injection cylinder. The valve includes a cylindrical sleeve 22 closed at its aft end by a transverse wall 24 having an air vent 25 and held in a mating cylindrical bore 26 by a forward bore shoulder 28 and an aft C-clip 30. A spool32 includes a conical portion 33 which fits in a mating conical bore 34 extending from an opening 35 in the side wall of the chamber 14 to the bore 26, and whose forward end terminates in a truncated face 36 and whose aft end 38 is cylindrical to mate with and slide in the bore 40 of the sleeve 22. Suitable ring seals 42, 44 and 46 are also provided. A helical compression spring 48, captured between and within the sleeve and the spool, biases the spool forwardly from the sleeve to obturate the conical bore 34.

The liquid propellant gun shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes a stationary receiver 50 having four gun barrels 52 with respective firing chambers 54. Two propellant liquids are supplied to each firing chamber by two respective injection cylinders 12. Each cylinder 12 includes a hollow spool 56 fixed to a rod 58 which is journalled through a piston 60. An inlet port 62 is coupled to a source of liquid, and the end of the cylinder opens on the respective conical spool injection valve.

Projectiles are fed by a feeder sprocket 64 to a hand off sprocket 66 into a feed ring 68 and then by a scoop ring 20 to a respective chamber 54. A bolt 72 having a firing electrode 74 is reciprocable aft of the chamber. The respective bolts, spools and pistons may all be cam controlled.

A cycle of operation may be considered to start after a projectile has been fired from a gun barrel, as seen in FIG. 3. The bolt 72 unlocks and moves aft, uncovering the opening 36. The hollow spool 56 moves aft, uncovering the inlet port 62. The piston moves aft, sucking liquid into the cylinder through the inlet port 62 and the hollow spool 56, while the spring 48 holds the conical spool 32 of the injection valve closed. The hollow spool 56 moves forward, covering the inlet port 62. A projectile is fed by the scoop into alignment with the firing chamber forward of the bolt 72. The bolt moves forward to the inject position whereat the ring seal 74 of the projectile is forward of the opening 36 and the bolt is aft of the opening. The piston moves forward in the injection stroke, developing relative hydraulic pressure which bears against the conical spool 32 to overcome the bias of the spring 48 to open the injection valve. Liquid propellant flows through the valve into the chamber, pushing the projectile forward. The piston halts in its forward position, the relative hydraulic pressure falls off as the projectile moves forward, the spring 48 closes the injection valve. The bolt is moved forward to its locked position whereat it covers the opening 35, protecting the injection valve from firing gas pressure and seating the projectile rotating band into the rifling of barrel. The propellant is ignited and the projectile is fired.

It will be appreciated that the opening 35 into the inner face of the cylinder 54 is concave and the bolt wall is convex-cylindrical, and not flat as the smaller end face 36 has been described. Ideally, the end face of the spool may be made concave-cylindrical to mate with the opening and the bolt, and means provided to prevent rotation of the spool (e.g., a square post fixed to the sleeve and joumalled in a square blind bore in said spool.) Practically, the end face of the spool may be made flat and tangential to the cylinder 54, and the resulting ullage will be insignificant.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be appreciated that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described, and

that certain changes in the form and arrangement of parts and in the specific manner of practicing the invention may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What is calimed is: l. A gun comprising: a gun barrel having a propellant combustion chamber; a cylinder having an interior bore; a valve body; a truncated conical bore in said body having an opening in its sidewall interfacing said interior bore of saiD cylinder, and its smaller cross-section opening into the interior sidewall surface of said chamber; a truncated conical spool disposed for longitudinal reciprocation in said conical bore and having its smaller cross-section face substantially congruent to said smaller cross-section opening of said conical bore and substantially forming a portion of said interior surface of said chamber; spring means normally biasing said spool to dispose its said smaller face into said smaller opening of said conical bore to thereby obturate said conical bore, with said smaller face being flush with said interior sidewall surface of said chamber, thereby providing said sidewall surface with a uniform surface. free of lacunae. 2. A gun according to claim 1 further including: a cylindrical bore in said valve body longitudinally aligned with and extending from and having a diameter larger than the larger cross-section end of said conical bore; and

a cylindrical plug disposed in said cylindrical bore and having a cylindrical blind bore therein for receiving said spool when it is displaced against said bias of said spring means.

3. A gun according to claim 2 further including:

an additional cylindrical blind bore in said spool;

said spring means being a helical compression spring and disposed in part in said blind bore of said plug and in part in said blind bore of said spool.

4. A gun according to claim 1 further including:

a source of fluid propellant coupled to said bore of said cylinder;

a piston disposed in said bore of said cylinder for pumping fluid propellant against said conical spool for displacing said conical spool against said bias of said spring means and thereby passing fluid propellant into said conical bore and thence into said chamber.

5. A gun according to claim 1 further including:

means disposed in said gun barrel for varying the volume of said chamber.

6. A gun according to claim 5 wherein:

said means for varying the volume of said chamber includes a projectile and a gun bolt. 

1. A gun comprising: a gun barrel having a propellant combustion chamber; a cylinder having an interior bore; a valve body; a truncated conical bore in said body having an opening in its sidewall interfacing said interior bore of said cylinder, and its smAller cross-section opening into the interior sidewall surface of said chamber; a truncated conical spool disposed for longitudinal reciprocation in said conical bore and having its smaller cross-section face substantially congruent to said smaller cross-section opening of said conical bore and substantially forming a portion of said interior surface of said chamber; spring means normally biasing said spool to dispose its said smaller face into said smaller opening of said conical bore to thereby obturate said conical bore, with said smaller face being flush with said interior sidewall surface of said chamber, thereby providing said sidewall surface with a uniform surface, free of lacunae.
 2. A gun according to claim 1 further including: a cylindrical bore in said valve body longitudinally aligned with and extending from and having a diameter larger than the larger cross-section end of said conical bore; and a cylindrical plug disposed in said cylindrical bore and having a cylindrical blind bore therein for receiving said spool when it is displaced against said bias of said spring means.
 3. A gun according to claim 2 further including: an additional cylindrical blind bore in said spool; said spring means being a helical compression spring and disposed in part in said blind bore of said plug and in part in said blind bore of said spool.
 4. A gun according to claim 1 further including: a source of fluid propellant coupled to said bore of said cylinder; a piston disposed in said bore of said cylinder for pumping fluid propellant against said conical spool for displacing said conical spool against said bias of said spring means and thereby passing fluid propellant into said conical bore and thence into said chamber.
 5. A gun according to claim 1 further including: means disposed in said gun barrel for varying the volume of said chamber.
 6. A gun according to claim 5 wherein: said means for varying the volume of said chamber includes a projectile and a gun bolt. 